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FAA investigates plane crash in Vienna
By Ed Runyan
VIENNA
The pilot of a small aircraft that crashed at the end of the Price Field runway remained in critical but stable condition Monday night in intensive care at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration has sent investigators from the Cleveland area to the crash scene to investigate.
Ronald Catchpole, 54, of King Graves Road, suffered serious injuries in the 5 p.m. crash Saturday in his 1990 Pietenpol Aircamper recreational aircraft at the runway off of Pleasant Valley Road. He was conscious, however, when he was removed from the wreckage.
Catchpole had just taken off from the runway, which is an 1,800-foot grass airstrip, when he crashed.
Witnesses said it appeared the aircraft was having engine trouble just before hitting trees and coming to rest in a creek.
The aircraft was attempting to gain altitude but having trouble, then as it ascended over the trees, it had further engine difficulty, banked about 30 degrees and then descended into the trees, according to a report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
A friend of Catchpole’s and a resident of Pleasant Valley Road found Catchpole in the creek and assisted him until paramedics arrived.
Catchpole had been flying the aircraft the past two years with no problems, said Jeffrey Jardine of nearby Smith-Stewart Road, a friend of Catchpole’s and one of the two who came to his aid.
Elizabeth Isham Cory, FAA spokeswoman in Chicago, said the FAA’s goal in conducting an investigation is to determine what caused the crash and to prevent it from happening again.
Investigators will study whether the aircraft was properly maintained, properly licensed and the pilot properly trained. Investigators also will check to see whether the rules of flight were followed, Isham Cory said.
“We’ll look at all aspects to see what happened and why,” she said.
Sometimes the investigation results in parts of the aircraft being sent to the manufacturer or another location for analysis and review, she said.